Physician Office

As a Quality Innovation Network-Quality Improvement Organization, HSAG is a centralized resource for knowledge and tools that help providers improve health quality, efficiency, and value. The materials provided below cover a wide range of quality improvement topics, from cardiovascular best practices to physician quality reporting system information. All are directed to providers interested in improving patient outcomes and in quality measure reporting to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.

Cultural Competency

The Chartbook marks the 30th anniversary of the Heckler Report, the Health and Human Services report from its Task Force on Black and Minority Health. Progress in cardiac care is noted, but disparities remain, as with higher incidences of chronic disease, including hypertension and diabetes, as...

Health disparities among the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) populations are being tackled by a movement among stakeholders to improve care. This article discusses approaches that the LGBT Elder Initiative is taking to reduce healthcare barriers.

Electronic Health Record Resources and Meaningful Use

Attestation Resources
Before you attest, use this resource to organize your information and make sure your attestation will be successful:
2015 Eligible Professional (EP) Attestation Worksheet
Hospital Attestation resources are available at...

Overview of the Program
As part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA), Congress established payment adjustments under Medicare for eligible hospitals that are not meaningful users of Certified Electronic Health Record (EHR) Technology. Eligible hospitals that do not...

General Quality Payment Program Tools and Resources

The American College of Physicians (ACP) has assembled an array of resources concerning the Medicare Access & CHIP Reauthorization Act of 2015 (MACRA). Education, MACRA news, implementation resources, and advocacy articles are presented at the ACP MACRA/Quality Payment Program webpage.

Immunization Resources

The American Academy of Family Physicians released its online mapping tool that permits members to review vaccine coverage and exemptions by state, serving to help physicians better advocate for immunizations in their community.

A study published in the Annals of Family Medicine (March/April 2017) found that automated office blood pressure monitoring for 30 minutes in the clinic may dramatically lower the risk of for “white-coat” hypertension and related overtreatment of patients. Read more at the journal article.

Patient Satisfaction

Written by an internal medicine physician, this short list is practical in its approach to offer advice on improving patient satisfaction. From spending time with doctors/nurses to being clear about wait times, this is what could be characterized as low-hanging fruit for high impact targeting.

This article simplifies the large and small items that hospitals should concentrate on when improving the patient experience. One of the more compelling advisories is to “experience your care as patients do.” Everything from signage to parking and filling out forms becomes an eye-opener when seen from that vantage point.

Quality Improvement

Under the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act of 2015 (MACRA), the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) allows qualified providers to share or sell analyses of Medicare and private claims data to support improved delivery of healthcare, as reported by Healthcare News IT.

This is a recorded webinar hosted by the Agency for Healthcare Research & Quality, featuring three topics, including a how-to on using reminders for people with type 2 diabetes. This presentation spans 1.5 hours.

Smoking Cessation

The American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP) is developing a comprehensive tobacco and nicotine prevention and control program that will encompass new office-based tools, community programs and advocacy at the national and community levels. The Academy will focus on promoting Tar Wars to more family medicine residents, family medicine interest groups and medical students to present the program in their communities. Tar Wars educational materials will be available online, as well.

The American Academy of Family Physicians has developed its "Ask and Act" tobacco cessation program to encourage family physicians to ask all patients about tobacco use and to help them quit. Interventions, group visit tools, pharmacological guides, and more are provided.